Tool #11

1. What are your favorite tools you now have in your personal technology toolbox? Briefly describe a particular activity that you will plan for your students using at least one of these new tools. Tools 1 and 5 are great for kids to showcase themselves. Students might create a math blog where every week (or perhaps strand) they will respond to specific questions to show what they know.  Tool 5 could allow them to show what they know in different ways along with their posts.

2. How have you transformed your thinking about the learning that will take place in your classroom? How has your vision for your classroom changed? Are you going to need to make any changes to your classroom to accommodate the 21st Century learner? I think I'm doing OK with this, but I'd like to be great. I need to do better with the real world connections. I just hate how we are not yet at the place where we have the 1-1 ratio of students to technology on a daily basis.  This limits us SO much. 

3. Were there any unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? No it was great. I just wish that the district would differentiate for its teachers like we are expected to do for our students.  Many people on our campus including myself went through the original 23, 11, and 11 1/2 more tools training, yet we still had to do this.  I know there is always more to learn, but training/requirements should have been modified for us.

Tool #10

Discuss at least three things you would want to make sure your students understand about being good digital citizens: abiding by copyright laws, being safe, and etiquette.

At least one of the resources mentioned on the Ed Tech website that I plan to use instructionally: Brain Pop,    Cyberethics for Kids,   and,  Copyright with Cyberbee

Explain briefly how you would "teach" the idea of digital citizenship to your students: At the beginning of the year as we get ready to use various tech tools, a community circle will let me see what my kids know/don't as well as whether they have had first hand experience with any of these issues. As we discuss topics and visit some of the helpful sites, that is when we address student connections and possible scenarios with "what would you do if...?"

Explain briefly how you plan to share the idea of digital citizenship with your parents. I will do this the same as what I tell my students so that they know exactly what their child has heard. I would then supplement them with other links sites that they can visit themselves to learn more.

Tool # 9

Why do you think it is important to tie the technology to the objective?: If the use is not tied into curriculum or a specific objective, students see these devices the same as their personal tools- only for fun. Yes, the APPs that are tied to the curriculum are fun, but they serve an educational purpose. Students take the devices and assignment more seriously when they are aware of a SPECIFIC purpose.

Why should we hold students accountable for the stations/centers?: See answer above. Students know there is a purpose & take the assignment more seriously. It's not a free for all.

Visit 2 of the applicable links to interactive websites for your content/grade level. Which sites did you like. How could you use them as stations? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations?: Manipula Math will be great for students who need more support. As a station, students can have a record page where they keep track of what they used the manipulatives for as well as to document whether they still have questions about the concept. The same applies for PHet. Here support for class content comes into play. If you are covering something like inertia in science, this will provide a simulation. Students can draw their understanding of the simulation and state the idea in their own words or come up with a different simulation that models the concept.

List two to three apps you found for the iPod Touch/iPad that you can use in your classroom. What do you see that station looking like? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations? One of my APPS is the Houston Zoo App. It's great for animal adaptations and habitats which we cover in science. This provides research opportunities as well as ways to apply higher level thinking skills based on adding or deleting info. when the animal is being discussed. I have an origami APP which I tie in to geometry. It helps students review angles, transformations... but also helps them practice their following directions skills.

What about other ways to use the iPod Touch/iPad? Share another way you can see your students using the device as a station. Students are currently using the video capabilities right now as part of their technology math menu, but then they import the video into a paid APP (thank you grant) called MovieMaker where they can edit the video, create titles, sound effects, background music, transitions...

Tool # 8

After watching the videos/tutorials, list two to three things you learned about the device(s) that will be in your classroom this fall: we will get cases (I had to buy my own for my grant iPods), there is going to be a new way for APPs to be delivered:)

How do you plan to manage the device(s) in your classroom? Do you have ideas/suggestions that others may find useful?: I have my grant iPods in a case. Students can get them during appropriate times (math workshop center with specific directions, science for timers..., for video capabilities...). I have only used them for "free time" twice. There is ALWAYS a specific purpose for their use and the class knows that. They also know that they must disconnect and connect the iPods a certain way from the case. The more clear you are, the better the handling of these tools (as with everything else we do in the classroom).

Tool #7

I think this would be a great way to bring parents into the classroom.  I know the idea is to go global. I understand that.  When it comes to math, one things kids have a hard time with though, is seeing how math really is used in the real world.  So I choose to start basic and local so I can instill an initial understanding. For each unit, we can use Today's Meet, Skype, or even or video tools like iPods and Flips to interview parents.  One way would be to have each student come up with a specific question related to the specific mathematical strand that is being covered in class.  Depending on the schedules of both parties, we could host a live interview via Skype or host an ongoing interview with Today's Meet that would be checked daily as part of a math center allowing small groups to respond and ask more questions based on the subjects' replies but this would also allow more subjects/parents to join in for the discussion.  Students could also video their parent and post to a class blog or the class could watch the video sent to the class. This would be a great way to start the school year (next year).

Tool #6

Currently I am using Today's Meet on my Math wiki that I use with parents (http://todaysmeet.com/HCEMathManiaParents). I have not yet used it with my kids as I was waiting until this semester. We will use TodaysMeet to discuss problem solving when evaluating student examples. I was surprised that I didn't see online stickies: http://en.linoit.com/. This site let's kids use their own computers (or ones you've set up) to post sticky notes on a bulletin board which you can then display on the ACTIVboard for the entire class to see and comment on with more sticky notes.  We brainstorm like this all the time using real sticky notes and chart paper.  This is a different way to do so, kids can post comments more easily, you can print the bulletin board and save for another time.  It's awesome. Google Docs will allow kids to work collaboratively on different publishing products.  Diigo will be an easy way to share websites with students for a particular unit of study like this one for food chains: Diigo list.

Tool #5

I love using different web based tools with my class.  Two of the easiest are Glogster (new for me this year) and Animoto. I have used Glogster since the beginning of the year.  The kids created a Glog that contained information about themselves to share with their classmates to build community.  We have used Animoto for Reduce, Reuse, Recycle as well as for their math technology menu where they are choosing a math concept to create a short music video for.

Miss Lopez's Back to School Glog

student Animoto example

Tool #4

Using Google Apps will aid with collaborating among the team.  Teams will be able to work on assignments without having to find time to meet. In the classroom, teachers can create a document of some type and edit/revise as a class, student groups can work on projects together whether at school or at home. Documents and forms will be the easiest to start out with.

Tool #3

I use You Tube and Teacher Tube  all the time for music videos (ex. Bill Nye) related to science as well as United Streaming for math and science. These are my 2 most favorite science videos of all time (so far anyway).  The kids LOVE them!!!

Copyright/Fair Use- not new.  This is something that is discussed with our students quite often. We always talk about not using other people's work as our own as well as giving credit for what is borrowed.


For Picasa, kids love looking for pictures related to various concepts to show their learning. They also love using the images to create products such as mosaics, flipcharts,...

Tool #2

I think participating in a PLN is great for educators since we are collaborators. Diigo is also a great way to keep track of sites you visit often and can then access them anywhere as opposed to just on your school computer. I joined Diigo because it’s easy to use and it keeps your sites/blogs organized for you. I am visiting/following 3 sites: Edutopia.com, Funbrain.com, and apple.com

As far as commenting, it is very important to practice online courtesy and of course you want people to visit your blog so you have to do things such as post questions or links so that others will be interested in what you have to share and continue to visit your blog. I don’t mind sharing my thoughts publicly via a blog or web site.  I prefer this much more than standing in front of a group and saying the same things. My team is a small group so I don’t see a difference between posting and sharing with them in person.  Larger groups are a different issue. 

Tool #1

Using Blogger is very easy and user friendly.  I have used it before and definitely prefer it to Word Press.  I forgot how fun it is to create a Voki.